Friday, January 31, 2014

The Lunar (or Korean) New Year is one of the biggest holidays in the country. It was also the first one I experienced, except I was so new I had no idea what was happening -- my experience was more like Sis. Kerry Jo's here!

There are all kinds of traditional games that they play and traditional foods that they eat. And of course it's a time to visit family -- there's also a tradition of children bowing to their parents to honor them...and to get little gifts!

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

I nearly killed myself the first time I made breakfast in my first area. Besides being the first time for me to cook in a foreign country, it was also the first time that I'd ever used a gas stove -- and it didn't have an igniter. We had to use matches to light it. I turned on the gas, got out the matches, and after a couple of tries (while the room was filling with gas), I finally got a match to light.

FOOM!

A huge explosion rocked the apartment! Things fell out of the cupboards and off the counter! The other elders ran into the kitchen to see me standing dazed and singed with a burnt out match between my fingers!

I was supposed to make pancakes that day. Frankly, I don't remember what happened next. I think my companion sent me to lie down and he made breakfast instead.

And, yes, next time it was my turn to cook what was on the menu? That's right. Cold cereal!

Sunday, January 26, 2014

There aren't a lot of ways for missionaries to express their individuality and their personality -- outside of neckwear. While there are guidelines, sometimes the interpretation of those guidelines can get pretty broad.

One of my sons came home from his mission with a big garbage bag full of ugly ties that he'd collected over his two years. I don't know if he wanted to keep them, or just couldn't get rid of them.

I've also heard of districts or zones that have ugly tie contests. Some of them, while still within the guidelines, were awfully awful!

Next time you meet a missionary -- the elders, that is -- check out his tie. It will tell you a lot about who he is.

Sunday, January 19, 2014

The back story on this cartoon is that I had almost this exact same conversation when I served as a missionary in Korea. There was a guy who insisted he couldn't understand me even though we were both speaking Korean (and by that time, my language skills were good). Like Sis. Kerry Jo, I told him about my family in Canada, and asked if we could speak in Canadian. He replied that he didn't know any Canadian, so I suggested we try speaking in Korean. He agreed, and from then on we didn't have any trouble. Go figure!

Monday, January 6, 2014

This year's course of study in Sunday School is the Old Testament. In our class we had this comparison...and if you've read the entire Harry Potter series, that's the equivalent in number of pages to about three and a half times through the Old Testament.

Editors Note: The "begats"are comparable to the interminable camping trip in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- mind numbing, but necessary.

About Me

I've been cartooning since I was a teenager, and have been published in magazines ranging from AASHTO Quarterly to the New Era and several other periodicals, trade publications and newsletters.
Feel free to contact me with comments, complaints or questions!